3 December 2024

Tourist Movements at Borders (FRONTUR)

October 2024. Provisional data

Main Results

  • Spain received 9.0 million international tourists in October, 9.5% more than in the same month of 2023.
  • In the first 10 months of 2024 the number of tourists increased by 10.8%.

In October, Spain received 9.0 million international tourists, 9.5% more than in the same month in 2023.

In the first 10 months of 2024, the number of tourists visiting Spain increased by 10.8% and approached 82.9 million.

International tourists arrivals by months

Annual variation. Percentage

The United Kingdom was the main country of residence, with almost 1.8 million tourists and an increase of 4.8% compared to October 2023. There were 1.3 million arrivals from Germany (14.0% more) and almost 1.2 million from France (16.7% more).

International tourists arrivals (*) by country of residence. October 2024

(*) Does not include transit travellers or same-day visitors (excursionists).
(**) Includes the estimate for Russia.

The main sending countries during the first 10 months were the United Kingdom (with 16.5 million tourists and an increase of 7.1%), France (almost 11.5 million and an increase of 11.1%) and Germany (with almost 10.7 million, 8.7% more).

Main type of accommodation and other characteristics of the trips

The number of tourists who chose market accommodation as their main type of accommodation increased by 10.6% in annual terms. Within this type, hotel accommodation increased by 6.5% and rented accommodation by 40.0%, while non-market accommodation increased by 4.2%.

International tourist arrivals by type of accommodation. October 2024

A stay of four to seven nights was the main length among tourists, with more than 4.5 million tourists and an annual increase of 10.5%. The number of visitors increased by 13.0% among those without overnight stays (excursionists) and increased by 5.7% among tourists with longer duration (more than 15 nights).

Almost 6.5 million tourists travelled without a package tour in October, up by 9.8%. Over 2.5 million travellers arrived with package tours, an increase of 8.7%.

Autonomous communities of main destination

Cataluña was the top tourist destination in October, with 20.4% of the total. It was followed by Illes Balears (17.8%) and Andalucía (15.3%).

9.4% more tourists visited Cataluña than in October 2023. The number of tourists who visited Illes Balears increased by 8.3% and those who visited Andalucía rose by 10.6%.

International tourist arrivals by main Autonomous Community of destination. Monthly and cumulative data. October 2024

In the accumulated first 10 months of 2024 the Autonomous Communities that received the most tourists were Cataluña (with over 17.6 million and an increase of 9.9% as compared with the same period of 2023), Illes Balears (with over 14.9 million and an increase of 6.2%) and Canarias (12.3 million, 9.7% more).

Data revisions and updates

The data published today are provisional and will be revised in March next year. All results of this operation are available on INEbase.

Methodological note

The main objective of the Tourist Movement on Borders Survey (FRONTUR) is to estimate the number of non-residents visiting Spain on a monthly basis, as well as to know the main characteristics of the trips made by these visitors. The international definitions and recommendations of the UNWTO and EUROSTAT in this field are followed when preparing the FRONTUR.

Type of operation:
continuous monthly statistics.
Population scope:
this refers to non-residents in Spain who enter our country, whether or not they have stayed overnight, as well as those who pass through our country in transit.
Geographical scope:
the entire national territory. The sample is collected at the main access points for non-resident travellers, by road, airport, port and rail.
Reference period of the results:
the month.
Sample size:
the annual theoretical sample size of FRONTUR exceeds 450,000 surveys, which are distributed throughout the year, taking into account the seasonality of passenger flows.
Sampling type:
strata have been defined for each form of entry that group together border points, airports, ports and railway lines. In determining the road and airport sample, the day of the week in which the survey has been carried out is also identified, differentiating between working days, weekends and holidays. In airports, 21 air relations are defined (Spanish airport of origin-country of destination airport).
Collection method:
information is collected by direct interview when the traveller leaves Spain, using a multilingual electronic questionnaire.

For more information, you can access the methodology and the standardised methodological report.

INE statistics are produced in accordance with the Code of Good Practice for European Statistics. More information on Quality at INE and the Code of Best Practices.

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